Especially if you sell a product, you MUST have a web presence if you are going to reach maximum success. You are missing out on so many sales! The sad truth is that most small business owners who sell products offline are only avoiding setting up an e-commerce business because they are afraid. They are overwhelmed by what they don't know and consider the internet and e-commerce something outside their reach because of their lack of knowledge.

Today the Rules of Thumb blog from MoneyThumb would like to assure any small business owner who knows they need to start selling online to increase their profits but is not sure about how to begin that setting up an e-commerce store is really not that hard. For those of you who do not have the technical know-how to create your own e-commerce store, there are professionals on sites like Fiverr who can handle the job at very little cost.

To help you understand more about e-commerce and get you started on the road to bigger success by selling online, we advise you to attend this free webinar being held by Magento. They are an Adobe owned company and a very popular e-commerce platform.

Here is a description of and details about the free webinar:

The post Tips for Creating a Successful E-Commerce Business appeared first on MoneyThumb.

The route the majority of people with disposable income take to make their money grow is by investing. However, really smart investors are figuring out that there is an even greater way to put their money to work for them and add to their portfolio by becoming private lenders.

There are many good reasons to diversify at least a portion of your portfolio by becoming a private lender. The Rules of Thumb blog from MoneyThumb has listed the six best reasons below:

1. A historically proven strategy.

Private lending has been a proven way to generate profits for centuries. In fact, there are records of private lending agreements as early as 3,000 B.C., showing people loaning to others for defined time periods in exchange for “interest” paid in wheat, livestock, shekels of silver, or other commodities. One crazy fact is that interest rates of 20% – 40% were common in ancient times.

During the Great Depression in the late 1920s and 1930s, the stock market in the U.S. was just over 100 years old and had experienced many crashes. Investors soon learned that what goes up may go down… way down. After severe losses, many investors swore off the stock market and instead, started lending money to those who needed capital to purchase or temporarily finance properties. They soon discovered that their losses were few and the returns were great.

2. Predictable returns.

When you invest in the stock market, you are essentially placing a bet that the price will go up. Historically, this may be true more often than not. When you loan money as a private lender, you have an agreement that specifies how much you’ll be paid and when. Properly constructed and with the right borrower, this delivers very predictable returns, such as a monthly check that comes like clockwork.

3. Excellent cash flow.

In addition to passing the test of time banks and other lenders are some of the most profitable businesses in the world. In this low-interest environment, you can earn several times what your bank is paying, without the unpredictability of the stock market. And if interest rates at banks go up, so will interest rates for private lenders. That’s because there will always be people who need to borrow money outside of mainstream channels.

4. Diversification.

Not only does private lending help diversify a stock-heavy portfolio, but through private lending, it is also very easy to diversify amongst different types of assets or real estate investments in different locations.  And of course, you can practice private lending with different types of assets, such as a real estate bridge loan, a fractional real estate equity investment, or a collection of peer lending loans.

5. A secured investment.

If you are lending on real estate, your investment will likely be secured by the property itself, perhaps with the first deed of trust, although there are several different ways that private lending deals can be structured.

If you are doing the deal yourself, you will definitely want an appraiser to verify that the property is worth substantially more than the amount you are lending. The lower the loan-to-value percentage, the more security you have for your investment.

6. Leveraged investment opportunities. 

It’s called arbitrage: By investing money you have borrowed at a lower rate to earn a higher rate, you can earn an exceptional rate of return and expand your investments. Say you take out a cash loan at an interest of 4%, then make loans to individuals at an interest rate of 10%. It doesn't take a math whiz to see what a great idea this is. Professional private lenders do it all the time. That's how they money without using their own personal capital.

As you can see, becoming a private lender is a really good idea if you have expendable capital or even just really good credit. We hope the above tips have helped you decide to become a private lender if you were on the fence. We also want you to know that MoneyThumb has PDF financial file converters designed specifically for lenders. This will allow you to quickly convert the bank statements of potential borrowers to help you make informed lending decisions. Take a test drive of our powerful PDF converters today.

The post 6 Very Good Reasons to Become a Private Lender appeared first on MoneyThumb.

If you are a professional accountant and/or a QuickBooks Pro Advisor and are not yet using MoneyThumb's suite of tools, then it is time you checked out what we offer. Just a few tasks that MoneyThumb tools accomplish include the ability to convert any file format, pull data from print statements, and save you time with the advanced features offered. MoneyThumb's tools integrate seamlessly with bank statements from over 100 banks, so you should have no problem connecting with your bank.

Using our PDF financial file converters designed for professional accountants is one way that forward-thinking accountants stay on top of their client list and improve their firm's bottom line. Another way accountants keep on top of things is by attending free webinars. Smart accountants are always learning and advancing their knowledge and experience. MoneyThumb is a big fan of extended learning for accountants, and we always share free webinars we discover. Most of these free webinars offer CPE credits simply for attending.

MoneyThumb Accounting Clients Always Learning and Advancing

Below we have listed two upcoming free accounting webinars we would like to share with the Rules of Thumb blog readers.

• Accounting Web is presenting this upcoming webinar titled, Automation and Communication: The Journey to Onboarding Your Clients. This free webinar is taking place on Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018. Here are the details of the webinar: • What you need to tell your clients, and when • How to answer client questions • How to address changes in pricing/billing policies • How to position the transition and engage with your clients We'll see presentations from our experts followed by discussion and questions from the audience. Program Level: basic Prerequisites: none Field of Study: Business Management and Organization Advance Preparation Needed: none Delivery Method: Group-Internet Based Recommended CPE Credit: 1 credit per 50-minute session Registration Instructions: register online Cost: free
• CPA Practice Advisor is holding a free webinar on Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018. The subject of this webinar is about accounting firm operations, and how to build firm culture. Here are the details of this free webinar:  Firm Operations Series: Building Firm Culture. Staffing challenges continue to top the list of challenges facing accounting firms. Finding and keeping great employees is the cornerstone of a successful firm. In Part Five of our Firm Operations Series, we’ll talk about firm culture, staffing and human resources in accounting firms, including Improving firm operations can help firms develop loyal employees that will serve clients well. Don’t overlook this critical component of your firm’s well-being. Program level: Basic (no prerequisites required). Receive 1 hour of free CPE credit for participating in this live webcast.

Please take a minute to share this blog post with your accounting friends on your social media pages. We are sure they would like to know about MoneyThumb's suite of products and also about these upcoming free webinars so that they too can keep learning and advancing as accountants.

The post MoneyThumb Accounting Clients Always Learning and Advancing appeared first on MoneyThumb.

One important takeaway from the article is that there is a high demand for professional CPAs and accountants in the medical marijuana industry. Here is a quote from the article, "Marijuana retailers in particular face huge tax burdens because they can’t take the types of standard deductions mainstream businesses can claim. That’s where certified public accountants and financial firms come in. Experts in complicated tax law – including section 280E of the federal tax code – are in high demand in the marijuana industry as companies look for ways to minimize what they owe to the federal government. They’re also critical for businesses that want to abide by the law and maximize profits.

“I’d like to see more CPAs get involved, rather than somebody who is maybe not as well trained in these issues,” said Dean Guske, the founder of Guske & Company, a Washington state accounting firm that serves more than 350 cannabis-related clients."

This is great news for accountants and others in the financial sector if you aren't squeamish about handling a marijuana client. But there are hurdles to overcome if you have a client in this industry. Another takeaway from the article in Marijuana Business Magazine is the following statement concerning those hurdles, "Perhaps the most common problem for cannabis CPAs is the oft-lamented 280E. In some cases, accounting professionals simply can’t help certain companies minimize the impact of the tax provision. In other cases, they can’t help clients enough to the point where they’re satisfied.

“I’ve had to turn people away and say, ‘You really have to change this business model,’” Zamarra said, referring to cannabis businesses structured in a way that makes it tougher for them to take tax deductions. “But most of the time we can plan around 280E if they come to me early.”

A parallel hurdle is the lack of access to banking. Marijuana businesses that are forced to do business entirely or mostly in cash often wind up using poor accounting and bookkeeping practices, which can lead to headaches for CPAs like Marty when it comes to filing tax returns and getting a company’s records in order."

We suggest that if you are an accountant who is considering taking on a client in the marijuana industry, you take a few minutes to read the article we have referred to in this post from Marijuana Business Magazine. Also, do more homework if you need to so that you will be able to confidently handle the accounting of this very different type of client.

Another way to be confident in your accounting abilities and to assure that you are using the most effective tools available, check out the PDF Financial File Converters offered by MoneyThumb. We hope all of our Rules of Thumb blog readers have a wonderful weekend.

The post Handling the Accounting of Clients in the Medical Marijuana Industry appeared first on MoneyThumb.